Your blood will never go in vain, says Mamata
Ahead of Martyrs’ Day, TMC boss says ‘we are dedicating this rally to martyrs & against the Centre’s authoritarian rule’
KOLKATA: On the eve of the Martyrs’ Day programme, which is set to witness a recordbreaking footfall at Dharmatala, Trinamool Congress (TMC) supreme Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday said the blood of the martyrs would not go in vain and for generations to come, the entire TMC family would unite on every ‘Shahid Dibas’ to pay heartfelt tribute to them.
“We are dedicating this rally to the martyrs and against the authoritarian rule of the Centre,” Banerjee said after visiting the venue to supervise the lastminute preparations herself.
Banerjee also emphasised that this year, the programme would be held to protest the “highhandedness and arbitrary attitude of the BJP-led
Central government”.
“For generations to come, the entire Trinamool Congress family will unite on every Shahid Dibas and pay heartfelt tribute to the martyrs. Your blood will never go in vain, we promise!” she said in a video message.
She also urged the party workers and leaders to cooperate
with the administration and observe the Martyrs’ Day programme with solemnity and respect. For the past two years, the meeting had been held virtually. She tendered an apology for the inconvenience that might be created due to the rally.
“21st July 2022 is only a day away and as the preparations near completion, we are brimming with emotions,” she tweeted. Remembering the martyrs, she further said: “We are taken back in time as we remember the faces of our brave martyrs and not a day goes by in our lives without remembering the supreme sacrifice of our martyrs.”
Banerjee, along with party veterans Sudip Bandyopadhyay, Mala Roy, and Firhad Hakim went to Dharmatala to oversee the last-minute arrangements. She appealed to party leaders to assist the workers.
“Many leaders are in touch with us. Our party supremo will speak about its policies and panIndia expansion plans. She will also give out a message ahead of next year’s Panchayat polls,” a senior TMC leader said.
Abhishek Banerjee, the party’s national general secretary, said: “The kind of enthusiasm that has been seen is unique. During the preparatory meetings, we had calculated that around 50,000 people would come from Cooch Behar, Alipurduar, South and North Dinajpur and Malda and accordingly we had made arrangements for them in the makeshift camps and some guest houses. However, so far about 1 lakh people have arrived from these districts and the number will go higher by this night. Thousands of people will come from Bankura, Purulia on Thursday morning. We regret that because of the shortage of space we will not be able to accommodate one-tenth of the people who would come to the city. We are all eager to listen to Mamata Banerjee. We assure to give the kind of Trinamool people want within six months.”
Abhishek Banerjee felicitated people who cycled from Jalpaiguri and Cooch Behar to attend the July 21 rally.
Three major processions will converge at Dharmatala on Thursday. The one that will start from Shyambazar’s Five-Point Crossing will reach the venue via Bidhan Sarani, College Street, Ganesh Chandra Avenue, and Central Avenue. Another one will start from Hazra and reach Dharmatala via Shyamaprasad Mukherjee Road, Asutosh Mukherjee Road and Jawaharlal Nehru Road. The rally from Howrah Station will reach the venue via Strand Road, Brabourne Road and BBD Bag.
Unprecedented arrangements have been made in areas surrounding the main stage. There will be commandos and police personnel on rooftops of the adjoining high-rises. The Commissioner of Police along with senior officers inspected the site of the meeting. Special security measures have been made on Harish Chatterjee Street and its neighbourhood where the CM’s residence is situated to prevent workers from visiting the area to have a look of her house.
To avoid any untoward incident during the July 21 Martyrs’ Day programme, Kolkata Police has strengthened security measures and made special arrangements for crowd management, maintenance of law and order situation and traffic arrangements. About nine roads in the city have been made one way from 4 am till 9 pm on the day of the programme. Security measures have been beefed up further keeping in
mind the recent incident of breach at the Chief Minister’s residence.
According to sources, the area around the dais has been divided into about 15 zones. Each of the zones will be under the supervision of a Deputy Commissioner (DC) rank officer. Police personnel of specialised force, equipped with sophisticated weapons, will keep a strict vigil in and around the dais from the high-rise buildings in the area. Other than the DCs, who will be posted in the security zones, several DCs will be looking after the law and order situation in the city. Additional CPs will supervise the entire arrangement.